'We know what we can do': BSU softball plays Miami in its 1st MAC tournament game since '19

MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State softball knew the stakes and rose to the occasion.

Needing a strong showing at Akron on April 29-30, the Cardinals won the best-of-three series to clinch the program's first Mid-American Conference tournament birth since 2019. They earned the No. 4 seed plat at No. 1 seed Miami (Ohio) at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 11.

While BSU hopes to advance, qualifying for the postseason was the team's primary goal heading into this year. The Cardinals finished one-game shy of the fourth seed in 2022 and this spring dropped from an early first-place standing to nearly out of contention before finishing the regular season on a 10-3 stretch.

It will be the first playoff experience for head coach Lacy Schurr and almost every player, so extending this campaign was a thrill for everyone.

"It was insane ... We didn't even know if we were going to make the MAC tournament. We kind of all put that on a backburner. We agreed not to look at the standings, not to see where we were in the rankings, and we were like, 'You know what? We're just going to finish the season out strong,' and it worked out in our favor," redshirt freshman McKenna Mulholland said. "We didn't let any of the social media, any of the standings, get to us ... Then winning the Akron series, you could see on and off the field, we were all filled with smiles, excitement.

"We got ice cream after, which was amazing. But it's cool to see that all the hard work that we put in the offseason and since has paid off."

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Mulholland was a major factor in securing a tournament spot. She was named MAC Player of the Week on May 2 after notching a .529 batting average over the team's final six games, including a career-best 4-for-4, six-RBI performance in the 5-4 series finale win at Akron.

She and the offense got hot at the right time. Ball State (27-24, 17-12 MAC) went cold at the plate to start April, averaging just 2.1 runs during its 1-8 slump, but rediscovered its groove to score 6.2 runs per game thereafter.

Mulholland attributed the turnaround to being "resilient" and "trusting the process," a similar sentiment to what senior infielder Haley Wynn said before the Akron series when she felt the Cardinals were overswinging and not being composed in the box.

Now, BSU batters have a smarter approach at the plate.

"I think (our confidence is) through the roof," Wynn, who leads the team with a 1.192 OPS, said. "I think we've really found what it means to play Ball State softball, and I think every single person believes in the person next to them as much as they believe in their self, and that's huge and that's something we need to take into the MAC tournament for sure."

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The team's improved offense has helped the pitching staff as well, particularly sophomore ace Angelina Russo.

She said that, naturally, pitching with a multi-run lead is less strenuous than trying to be perfect in a one-run or tie game. When BSU was frequently in those situations, or in significant deficits, during its rough patch, Russo's play suffered.

Although not all of the opponents' runs were earned by Russo in the stat sheet, she was not at their best. Ball State went 1-5 during Russo's first six appearances in April, only for her to rebound at Buffalo on April 15 and regain momentum.

In her final 10 regular-season appearances, Russo allowed just nine total runs, seven earned, including a four-game scoreless stretch.

"I feel like (my pitching has) come back to where I was around the beginning of the year. I think I have more confidence in my pitches," Russo said. "I've gone through some ups and downs this season, but I think overall, I'm ending on a high note, which is nice heading into MAC play."

Russo's developed into one of the MAC's top pitchers and ranks third with a 2.21 ERA in conference play.

But she and the Cardinals have the daunting task of facing RedHawks ace Brianna Pratt, who sports a leading MAC ERA of just 1.77 in by far the most innings pitched (146) of anyone.

She threw a complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts and just five hits allowed at BSU on April 25, leading a 6-0 Miami win.

Schurr trusts in her team's knack for shining in big moments, yet there is little room for error against such a formidable foe.

"It's definitely something that as a group we get to talk about because your emotions are gonna run high," Schurr said. "And we've talked about it all year, like, when we get up for big games, how do you recognize being nervous and enjoy that moment and use it as a tool to kind of push forward and get yourself to a high level of performance in those moments."

Luckily, BSU had additional time to prepare. The Cardinals were the lone MAC squad to not play a series on the weekend of May 6, and Schurr said having that extra period to rest their bodies and minds, and focus on finals week, will hopefully be a benefit.

And since their postseason position was already secure, they didn't have to spend energy stressing about the outcome of other MAC games and calculating scenarios. The focus was purely on themselves.

"I think it sets the tone a little bit differently for practices," Schurr said. "You know that you're in it and you're not hesitating on a lot. You go into practices gearing up toward that, and the girls are just gonna have a different mindset. So I think it was huge for us to not have to sit and watch other teams compete."

That extended rest also gave fifth-year star Amaia Daniel, one of BSU's top hitters (1.019 OPS) and the lone Cardinal who played in the program's last MAC tournament game, a better chance to be 100% healthy for the Miami matchup.

She was injured in the previous opener against RedHawks and missed the final two contests of that series before playing as a hitter only against the Zips. Schurr said she is still considered "day-to-day," but is optimistic that Daniel could return to the field defensively in the playoffs.

A healthy Daniel and refreshed overall roster should give Ball State its best chance to upset Miami. The team also felt good about its performance in the final two games of its previous series with the RedHawks, a 4-3 loss and a concluding 10-0 run-rule victory in five innings that ended a streak of five straight scoreless MAC appearances by Miami's second-best pitcher, Taylor Turner.

The Cardinals believe they can compete with anyone when they play their game.

"We absolutely demolished that Game 3," Mulholland said. "We know what we can do, we've just got to do it."

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: BSU softball plays Miami in its 1st MAC tournament game since 2019